Dear All, To read more about the structure of The Ambassadors, I can recommend Secret Knowledge by David Hockney (Thames and Hudson, 2001). He discusses, amongst other topics, the different vanishing points of the 2 books on the lower table, suggesting that they seen from different viewpoints at different times. To get the accuracy in the picture, he believes they used a room camera obscura and a camera lucida. The scull could have been distorted so accurately by tilting the surface onto which the image is projected; Hockney has squeezed it back into shape on a computer.
Best wishes, Jackie Jones From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kevin Karney Sent: 04 February 2011 16:49 To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: Google's Art Project and dialling Now take a look at Holbein's Nicholas Kratzer, painted in 1528 which is in the Louvre (copy in National Portrait Gallery). Kratzer was a German mathematician, astronomer and instrument maker who worked as King Henry VIII's astrologer. He was a drinking friend of Holbein. Find his picture in the Wikepedia entry for Nicholas Kratzer. Holbein was probably using Kratzer's instruments in the Ambassador's picture, which was painted a few years later in 1533. Same shepherd's dial, same strange instrument, same polyhedral dial (but unfinished), same little dial-like thing with the spike and square hole on his table. Best regards Kevin Karney Freedom Cottage, Llandogo, Monmouth NP25 4TP, Wales, UK 51° 44' N 2° 41' W Zone 0 + 44 1594 530 595 On 4 Feb 2011, at 07:59, [email protected] wrote: After only recently learning of the Google Art Project, I looked at Holbein's Ambassadors today and like many others I was amazed at the resolution. This huge painting, it's not far off 7ft square, is here in London at the National Gallery and it is now available to view under Google's Art Project at: http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/nationalgallery/the-ambassadors Painted in 1533 it has the most interesting collection of contemporary dialling equipment all of which are painted in immense detail. There are two globes (one terrestrial and one celestial), a quadrant, a torquetum, a polyhedral dial and a shepherd's dial and some others I don't know, all of which are set in such a way as to tell some 'story' to the understanding viewer. Until now it has been almost impossible for a sundial-interested visitor to the gallery to attempt to understand much of the detail - there just isn't time - but now with this view you can. You can even see for yourself the four place names marked on the terrestrial globe (one of which helped to identify one of the depicted persons as Jean de Dinteville, the Seigneur of Polisy) and you can even read the music and words in the open book and guess at the date and time shown on the shepherd's dial.. It doesn't (I think) help with viewing the anamorphic skull as a skull - or at least you still have to turn your monitor round to do so! - and I STILL don't understand the object behind the shepherd's dial... Anybody know what that might be? Patrick --------------------------------------------------- https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3422 - Release Date: 02/04/11
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